“Don't raise your voice, improve your argument."― Desmond Tutu有句話說：病從口入、禍從口出，意思是疾病是因為飲食不慎所導致，災禍也是因為言語不當而招來的。說話總是只來直往的人，總想要事情達到最高效率，最後事情雖搞定了，感情也破裂了，適時學會用柔性的語言、婉轉的措辭，不要一下子講得那麼明白，一來避免過分果斷、二來也減少無謂的傷害，多留一點模糊的空間，巧勁勝拙力 。在英文裡，也有這樣的用法，來看看以下範例：A. That is the best solution to this problem. B. Well, I think that this could well be the best solution to this problem.兩句的意思其實都是要表達「這是這個問題最好的解方」，但是B明顯比A來得婉轉客氣。外國人聽到B的說法，大多都會選擇認同你的看法，因為聽起來友善、不強勢。管理上最難拿捏的藝術，就是用心不用力，模糊語氣可以運用在對部屬、同事、客戶之間，這些巧用東風，順勢而為的技巧，我們用幾個詞性來做分類：1.modal verbs 助動詞 2.verbs動詞 3.nouns 名詞 4.adjectives 形容詞 5.adverbs 副詞 6.words/phrases expressing degree, quantity and frequency表達程度、數量、頻率的字與片語 7.introductory phrases 引導式片語——＊——＊—— 當你想給出指令，又擔心對方拒絕，怎麼說比較恰當？appear（顯得）, seem（似乎）, suggest（建議）, indicate（指出）, assume（以為）, estimate（預估）, argue（認為）, tend to（傾向）, guess（猜想）這些都是可以拿來當做婉轉語氣的動詞，他們都表示「沒有百分百確定」，放在句子裡面，既不失禮，又不用說一個絕對的答案。• It appears that the numbers this year are going to increase. 今年的數字看起來是增加的。• It seems that the difference between these two approaches are not so big. 這兩個方法似乎沒有差別太大。• Looking at the results for Q2, it suggests that we are going to have some good results in the second half of the year. 從第二季度的結果看起來，我們下半年的成果也會很不錯。• The fall in sales indicates that we are now looking at a saturated market. We might want to start thinking about developing some new products in the coming year. 秋季的銷售量指出我們放眼在一個飽和的市場。我們或許會在來年開始發展一些新的商品。• I assume that you will be able to hand this project in on time. 我想你會準時繳交企劃案。• She estimates that we are going to be able to increase profits this year, but I would argue that she is being a bit optimistic. 她估計我們今年應該能夠增加利潤，但我會認為她有點太樂觀了。• I guess it’s probably a good idea to organize a meeting to discuss this further. 我想召開一個來延伸討論的想法可能會不錯。——＊——＊—— 「我不同意你，但我理解你這麽想的原因。」表達意見前，先給對方認同感，開啟一段有效的溝通。• The assumption is that this would be a very good investment for our clients. 假設這個對於我們的客戶是非常好的投資。• I think that this idea has a lot of potential. It’s perhaps wise to investigate things a bit further. 我認為這個想法很有潛力。繼續調查下去可能或許是明智的。• My suggestion is that we do our very best to get all the paperwork submitted one week before the deadline to avoid any problems. 我的建議是我們盡全力讓我們的報告在截止日前一周就繳交，以避免問題。• The claim made by my manager that my work is not good enough is totally unfair. 我的經理聲稱我的作品不夠好，對我是完全不公平的。*本文收錄於英語島English Island 2017年3月號